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Sasuke Uchiha
|race = Human |gender = Male |age = Part I: 12-13 Part II: 16-17 |hair = Black |eye = Black |height = Part I: 150.8 cm-153.2 cm Part II: 168 cm Blank Period: 182 cm |weight = Part I: 42.2 kg-43.5 kg Part II: 52.2 kg |affiliation = Konohagakure |status = Alive |manga = Naruto |javoice = Noriaki Sugiyama |envoice = Yuri Lowenthal }} is a character of the Naruto series created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the story, Sasuke is the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, a highly skilled clan of ninjas allied to the village of Konohagakure. His primary motivation throughout the series is to avenge the destruction of his entire clan by killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha, a task he pursues at all costs. While he was initially cold and singularly driven by his revenge, he becomes more empathetic through his relationships with other characters, notably Naruto Uzumaki, whom he comes to consider as a rival. Appearance Sasuke has black eyes and spiky black hair with a blue tint. Sasuke's hair has hung over his face as bangs since he was a child, which as he gets older he allows to grow longer and, in turn, cover more of his face; by adulthood, his hair completely covers his left eye. He is considered handsome by most girls near his age. Sasuke's typical clothing has changed a number of time throughout his life, but the Uchiha clan's crest is usually present somewhere on his clothing, such as the back or his shirt collar. For most of Part I, he wears a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, white shorts, and, for a time, white arm warmers. During the Chūnin Exams' finals he wears a black, one-pieced version of this usual attire with many small belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs. He wears a blue-clothed forehead protector with both of these outfits, but starts wearing it less and less after being hospitalised by Itachi, finally abandoning it entirely at the end of Part I. In Part II, Sasuke consistently wears dark blue pants, over which hangs a blue cloth that covers him from his stomach to his knees and which he secures with a purple rope belt; this all is common to Orochimaru and his followers. He initially complements this with a white long-sleeved shirt kept open at the torso and black arm guards that cover his forearms. Leading up to and during his battle with Itachi, he replaces this top with a sleeveless dark grey shirt and the arm guards with bandages on his wrists. He switches after Itachi's death, wearing a white (grey in the anime) zippered, high-collared, short-sleeved shirt and blue wrist warmers. He wears a hooded cloak over his clothing at different points, usually an unadorned black one, but for a time it bears the trademark Akatsuki clouds. Sasuke loses his left arm at the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, though unlike Naruto, he opts not to have it replaced. In The Last: Naruto the Movie, he wears a black high-collared shirt, a midriff-exposing flak jacket, and light blue pants. Most of this goes unseen, as he wears a tattered light brown poncho over it. He wraps bandages around his ankles and a blue sash around his head during this appearance. In his later adulthood, Sasuke dons a black cloak with lavender lining, and an gray, long-sleeved, collared shirt, over which he wears a periwinkle vest. He also wears black pants, a purple belt, and dark gray fingerless glove on his remaining hand. He once again wears his forehead protector, letting it hang from his left hip.Naruto chapter 700+4, page 16 In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sasuke's outfit is revised, having his black cloak gain a storm flap, a maroon cinch on the collar, and maroon lining. His long-sleeved shirt gains light gray cuffs, and he wears a pair of brown leather belts with a black sheath for his sword, a brown leather shuriken holster, and brown leather shinobi boots. Story Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha clan from Konohagakure. His whole clan was eliminated by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who spared his life, deeming him as unworthy to kill. Since then, Sasuke resolve to become powerful enough to avenge his family and kill Itachi. When first introduced during his assignment to Team 7 in order to complete several missions, Sasuke displays a great brooding skepticism to his teammates. Feeling that his outstanding abilities, that caused others to call him a "genius", are more special than theirs, he is initially unwilling to cooperate with Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki, but later starts seeing them as useful. During his training, Sasuke starts controlling his Sharingan, an ability inherited from his clan manifested through the eyes and allows the user to see through most jutsu and imitate them. Although Sasuke becomes content with a life of happiness in Konohagakure, he never allows his ambition to gain power to leave his thoughts, always keeping them as a dark muttering. During his Part I battles, Sasuke arrogantly tests his abilities against those of progressively stronger ninja, in the process discovering the weakpoints he needs to overcome. When going through a ninja exam that would have him reach a Chunin status, Sasuke encounters the criminal Orochimaru, who begins to manipulate Sasuke into his custody by branding him a curse seal, which boost his abilities while driving him insane with use. Sasuke is taught Kakashi's Chidori, a collection of lightning-based chakra in his hand that serves as a rapid thrusting attack to avoid relying on the Curse Mark. However, almost getting killed Gaara when his Jinchuriki powers manifest, Sasuke finds himself being saved by Naruto as he is able to defeat the Hidden Sand ninja. That event, followed by his defeat by Itachi during brief return to Konohagakure, made Sasuke dissatisfied with what he has learned as a member of Team 7. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill Itachi, Sasuke goes to him, severing his ties with the village in the process. Naruto follows him in an effort to stop him, and the two do battle. Though he tries to kill Naruto, Sasuke ultimately cannot bring himself to do so, and instead continues on to Orochimaru's hideout. After two-and-a-half years, convinced that he has learned all he can from his new master, Sasuke turns against a weakened Orochimaru before the latter can steal his body. Though Orochimaru attempts to force a body switch, Sasuke is able to reverse the process, absorbing Orochimaru. Sasuke forms his own team, "Hebi", to aid him in finding Itachi. Once they are able to track Itachi down, Sasuke faces his brother alone. During the battle, Itachi removes Orochimaru and the cursed seal from Sasuke's body before his death from an illness he suffered. Sasuke is then collected by Tobi, Itachi's superior, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha under the orders of Konohagakure and spared Sasuke out of love with the intent be killed by brother's hand. Saddened with the revelation as his eyes evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke reunites with the members of Hebi, renaming them "Taka" with the intention of getting revenge on Konohagakure. In the meantime, Sasuke agrees to have Taka work with Tobi's group Akatsuki by attempting to capture the Eight-Tailed Beast's host, Killer Bee, who nearly kills them all multiple times and later manages to escape from them. After being informed of this by Tobi, Taka then sets out to kill Danzō Shimura, one of the figures behind the Uchiha clan's demise. After battling and nearly dying at the hands of the other Kage, Sasuke confronts Danzo, who confirms that Itachi had been working for him all those years. After Sasuke succeeds in killing Danzo, he is found by Team Kakashi. Following a brief clash with them before Naruto arrives to engage him, Sasuke accepts Naruto's request to settle things in one final showdown. To that end, Sasuke has Tobi transplant Itachi's eyes to perfect his Mangekyō Sharingan as he begins to suffer the blindness side effect it has. Following his recovery, Sasuke tests his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan on White Zetsu before making his way to the battle site of the Fourth Great Ninja War. However, in mid route, Sasuke finds the reincarnated Itachi and follows him to where Kabuto Yakushi before the brothers team up to fight him. Disillusioned by his brother's resolve to protect the village, Sasuke decides to investigate more about his clan to know what action should he perform for its future. To that end, he seeks Orochimaru's help to reanimate the first four Hokage. After hearing the First Hokage's story of the past of Madara, himself, the foundation of Konoha and what it means to be a shinobi, Sasuke, not wanting his brother's sacrifice to be for nothing, makes his decision to protect the village and heads to the area of the battlefield where the Rookie Nine are. Though distrusted by the others, stating his new intent to become Hokage to change Konoha for the better, Sasuke is welcomed back by Naruto and Sakura as the reformed Team 7 proceeds to fight the Ten Tails. Other Media Sasuke has additionally appeared in several of the featured movies in the series, as well as several other media relating to the series, including several video games and OVAs. Creation and conception When developing the original Naruto manga, Masashi Kishimoto had not initially intended to create Sasuke. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to create a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, resulting in Sasuke's creation.April 2007 US Shonen Jump April, p. 366 To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas on what constituted such a rivalry, and he coalesced these ideal elements into one relationship. Because Sasuke is intended to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto is always careful to make sure Sasuke is never too emotional. With Sasuke's character being that of a "cool genius," Kishimoto feels he has created the ideal rivalry.Art Collection: Uzumaki, page 140 By the time Sasuke suffered a drastic change in the plot which made him become one of the series' antagonists, Kishimoto compared Sasuke and Naruto to the yin and yang as a result of their notable differences. As a result, he mentions that whenever one of the two progresses, he makes sure the other does it too.February 2012 Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha, pp. 120–123 In early 2014, he referred to Sasuke as a "very pure person" when asked whether he was good or evil, adding that while some of his actions such as following his clan's ideals are positive, he tends to bring problems to others due to his self-centred nature.Interview with Masashi Kishimoto Since the series started serialisation, Kishimoto had decided the ending would feature a fight between these two characters.Masashi Kishimoto: Fan letters from overseas made me realise the popularity of ‘Naruto’ When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto had made a chapter which was set before the creation of Team 7, and Naruto had just become a ninja. However, this idea was later cancelled and Sasuke was introduced alongside Team 7, yet keeping the same traits and his rivalry with Naruto.Kai no Sho, page 190 Sasuke's first name comes from the manga Sasuke by Sanpei Shirato, a series which Kishimoto likes, as well as from Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictional ninja featured in Japanese children's stories.August 2007 Shonen Jump Naruto Collector 3 Kishimoto remarks that Sasuke's character was influenced by Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, stating that he referenced Hiei when making his character and his Sharingan.Kai no Sho, pages 74–81 Sasuke's design gave Kishimoto a number of problems, making him the most difficult character he had to create. Because he lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto.Art Collection: Uzumaki, page 124 Once settling on a proper face, Kishimoto worked on Sasuke's attire. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs, a result of Kishimoto's habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible. Realising he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to a basic contrast of Naruto's costume.Volume 3, page 26 For Kishimoto, Sasuke remains the most difficult character for him to draw. While drawing, errors and mishaps commonly result in Sasuke's youthful appearance being lost, a result of Kishimoto's inexperience in drawing characters mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, has slowly gotten longer as the series has progressed, increasing the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke. Midway through Part I of the series Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke that featured a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs. Because of the time needed to draw a costume of this design, Kishimoto returned Sasuke to his original costume.Art Collection: Uzumaki, page 130 Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, Sasuke has become his favourite character to draw. When designing Sasuke in his Part II appearance, Kishimoto's main objective was to make him look cool. For this, he tried giving him several outfits such as Shimenawa around him to preserve Orochimaru's style of clothing as by the moment in the series he was his apprentice. He also tried other clothes such as a turtleneck and a military uniform to show "cleanliness". However, he ended up choosing Japanese-style clothes with a chokutō-style sword.Sha no Sho, page 343 Reception In every official Weekly Shonen Jump popularity poll of the series, Sasuke has ranked within the top five characters. Though Sasuke's rank initially alternated between the third and fourth spot, he has ranked first twice. In an interview, Yuri Lowenthal, who does the voice acting for Sasuke in the English dub, states that he is honored to be playing that role due to the large retinue of voice actors auditioning for the role, and also noted the stress associated with his job due to fans being highly critical of any deviation or mistake made while dubbing. He has also commented that his first impression of the character was that of "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but he later appreciated the pain Sasuke suffered and where it came from. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sasuke's likeness, including plush of his Part I and Part II appearance, key chains, and numerous figurines. Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Sasuke's character. IGN characterized Sasuke as "the resident emo-kid" due to his cold and serious personality, and found it difficult to have a degree of empathy for his character. GameSpot's Joe Donson extolled Sasuke's abilities as "badass," although echoing IGN's comments concerning his personality. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews noted that Sasuke fell into the stereotypical "rival" mold of several other shōnen manga, and found him, along with several of the other characters, to not be likable. On the other hand, Mania Entertainment's Dani Moure praised the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are forced to work together despite their rivalry. The relation between both characters was liked by Moure due to the fact they always compete but the same time it was noted that "the group and Sasuke come together when they need to". Although Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network found Sasuke's fight in the Chunin Exams were "pure action", he noted that Orochimaru's influence over him kept the tension high. In another review, although Kimlinger commented that Sasuke was in need of development when he was escaping from Konoha, he criticized that it was not necessary to have long flashbacks about his life before his fight against Naruto. The following fight between the two characters has been noted to be one of the most entertaining from the series not only because of the tactics the two used, but also as how it helped to show their rivalry's growth giving sentimental scenes to the fans. Sasuke's appearances in Part II from the Naruto manga have received major praise. This included Manga Life's Park Cooper with the most remarked scenes from his review being Sasuke's new abilities and his fight against Orochimaru which was noted to "change the nature of things" suddenly. His re-introduction in the second story arc was found so important that the animated adaptation Naruto Shippuden started with a sneak peek to this scene. The character's personality, while found not entirely different from the original series, was found to make his scenes interesting thanks to his calmer and angrier attitude as well as his conversation with the nine-tailed demon fox which foreshadowed future events. Sasuke's final fight against Itachi was commented by Casey Brienza from Anime News Network to be "epic" as how the latter's death and revelations about his life made notable impact in the former's personality and point of view. Gallery Sasukereup.jpg References External links Category:Characters Category:Naruto characters Category:Anti-Hero